Pebble Beach pros safe from Trump, for four years at least
The 45th president, Donald Trump, is not modest about his prowess on the links. He once said: “There’s very few people that can beat me in golf.”
Maybe that’s true. But in his visits to Northern California for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, that has not been the case. He’s never won anything. The event, which pairs celebrities with PGA Tour professionals, takes place every February on the Monterey Peninsula.
He is not entered in this year’s tournament, which begins Thursday. But seven previous times, has accepted invitations to the event. His first appearance was in 1993 and his most recent one in 2006. His two-man team has never made the cut after 36 holes — although technically, Trump is 0-for-6 because the 1998 Pro-Am’s third round was washed out by bad weather and never replayed.
Because of the tournament’s format, it is difficult to break down precisely how much Trump was responsible for those results. Amateurs do not submit their own individual scorecards. Only the two-man team score is recorded with the amateur receiving handicap strokes. The pro also keeps his own individual card. If the two-man team does not make the cut after round three, the pro plays Sunday’s final round on his Despite that overall mediocrity, future President Trump produced one moment of sublime glory at the AT&T, which is played on three different Monterey Peninsula courses. In 1993, he made a holein-one on the 12th hole at Spyglass Hill, using a 5-iron after he overrode pro Paul Goydos’ suggestion of a 6-iron and instead followed the advice of a local caddie, “Rocket” Lytle.
Will Trump ever return to play at Pebble? If I’m making a guess, he’ll be back one day. At least one other former president, Gerald Ford, played in the tournament after leaving office.
Trump’s company has developed or operates 18 resorts or courses around the world — “the greatest golf portfolio ever assembled by one man,” according to the Trump Golf website. For business and promotional branding purposes, he’s bound to return one day to the Pro-Am field. Just probably not in the next four years.